Hard Luck Scars
by IchiNukeChuu
Summary: An adventure from Hell, a girl following her grandpa's last wish and joining the tournament to find her parents. But she knows this, lady luck is her enemy and lots of mayhem, hilarity, and drama will ensue in this contest. LeoxOC slight Hwoarang .
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Tekken, any anime, or video game references in this story. So please review and happy reading.

Side notes: Leo's gender was never specified by Namco, so it's still a mystery whether if Leo is a boy or a girl. But in the fanfic, Leo's gender is a boy.

* * *

"C'mon Nobu, kick her ass!"

In Shibuya, a fight was held near the famous dog statue, Hachiko. A huge group of people cheered as they see two people duking it out for a prize. It was already five minutes and this made the crowd more anxious to see someone get knocked out. Both fighters are covered in scratches, bruises, and sweat.

"Hey fry face, how about you throw in the towel and let a man win?" A guy with bleach blonde hair asked with a smirk.

The guy's opponent was a female tourist and she wasn't pleased by what the guy just said. All she wanted to do was drag her jet lag body to a nearest hotel and get some sleep. But in a weird twist of fate, she got herself in a small fighting tournament because she couldn't fully understand Japanese.

"No deal." She answered bluntly, 'I wished I didn't sleep during Japanese class.'

The two fighters ran to each other and everyone stared in shock as they watch two of the fighters bump heads, literally. The two collapsed onto the ground, both of them were knocked out cold. Before the girl drifted off to fantasy land, a group of strangers surrounded her.

'I knew I should've stayed in Germany...What am I saying after what grandfather did for me?!'

* * *

As the foreigner fell into a deep sleep, she remembered her time in her hometown in Germany. Despite the ongoing war caused by the company, Mishima Zaibatsu, parts of Germany weren't destroyed by the bomb raid. Her town wasn't so lucky, half of the buildings were in ruins and the townspeople have scars, bruises, lost limbs, and even died from the event. The girl was also a victim, half of the left side of her face and portions of her body were burned and all that's left were nasty scars. A month after the bombing, the town and its people managed itself to get on their feet, but recovery is taking longer than expected. At the girl's high school, it was still the same routine; you learn something new and review for the next day. Half of the campus was being repaired but half of the school was still intact but the population of students increased. On top of the school's roof, the girl and her friends looked at the orange colored sky together.

"Since the school year is over, I'll probably be helping out with repairing the school." A boy with brown hair said in a sulky tone.

"You make sound it bad, we're lucky to be alive and only have a few scars. All we can do now for the summer is recover and rebuild what this town was before." A Blondie replied as she puts her hair in a pony tail.

"At least you have a positive outlook, Bridgette. Hey Hermes, what are you going to do?"

Hermes watched as her friend put her hair in a messy pony tail and saw the bandages around her neck. She gave her friends a tired smile and shrugged slightly. After all the things that happened at her hometown, all she wanted to do was go somewhere far away and take a vacation. Far away from the hellish events that occurred.

"Nothing much Derek. I'll probably stay and take care of grandpa." Hermes answered lightly and let the cool breeze play with her short brown hair.

"That's right, how is your grandpa Hermes? My dad told me that Mr. Peters that he's still recovering from the raid."

"He's doing fine, I tried to make him stay in bed but he insisted of making dinner today. Thanks for asking Bridgette."

Hermes placed her hand on her face, which revealed some more scars on her upper left arm. Derek's expression softens, he felt guilty that two of his friends suffered injuries greater than his. All he got was a few scratches and a sprained ankle but he should be happy that he was lucky enough to be far away from the huge blast of fire and smoke. Twenty minutes later, the three decide to leave and exchanged goodbyes. Hermes walked alone with her bag pack and headed off to her grandpa's home. As she walked the streets, there were a few people with smiles and children playing on the streets. A pleasant smile formed on her lips and she looked up at the orange sky.

'Shame that I can't go anywhere...I want to go far away from here... But where?

Hermes continued to walk until she spotted a small bricked building that said, 'Peters Residence.' She entered the building and closed the door behind her.

"I'm home!" She greeted loudly.

There was no reply; she dropped her bag pack down walked quietly to the living room to find her grandpa sleeping on the couch with a rather peaceful look on his face. She crouched down beside him and placed her hand on his cheek, it was cold. Everything stood silent for a few minutes until Hermes realized what has happened.

"Grandpa..." She muttered in a shaky tone.

Then she noticed something in her grandpa's hands, it was a tape recorder, passport, and an airplane ticket. Hermes grabbed the two things from his hands and pressed the play button on the recorder.

"To Hermes, if you found this recording then you also discovered my lifeless body. But do not cry my dear; I do not deserve any tears from a granddaughter like you. You see, I've raised you when you were a baby and told stories about your parents when you were a child. But those stories were a lie; I tried to find your real parents countless times but no results. I didn't want to worry you, so I lied to make you happy but I knew that one day that you'll discover the real truth. Since you're almost done with school and you loved the school's fight club, I used my savings to get you a ticket to Japan. One of the neighbors told me that someone around Germany has decided to enter a competition known as, King of Iron Fist Tournament 6. I don't know what the prize is but I have hope that you can find info or something about your family. I don't have much time now, so please Hermes fulfill this old man's wish, find your real family and be happy."

The recording stopped playing, leaving Hermes alone in silence. She was stunned by the message that he left her and she felt like someone punched her stomach. The sorrow of losing the person that took care of her as his own, she wanted to cry but for some reason that tears won't come out. She sat on ground and stared her sleeping grandpa for an hour, hoping it was a horrible joke. Ten minutes later, she put the ticket in her pocket and kissed her grandfather's cheek one last time.

"I promise that I'll do my best just for you...grandfather." Hermes said in a serene tone.

* * *

"Hey, she's waking up." A stranger said out of nowhere.

"Grandpa..." Hermes muttered out and struggled to get sit up.

The group of people back to give her some space and she slowly up on her feet. It was eight minutes after the match and she had a feeling that she lost the fight. The bleach blonde boy was nowhere to be seen and the huge audience of people was gone. Only a few people stuck around to see if the competitor with scars was okay and breathing. Hermes brushed away the dirt off her light blue tee and grabbed her bag pack off the ground.

"Excuse me; do you know where the cheapest hotel is located at?" She asked a random stranger in a polite tone.

The stranger was a boy around her age with blonde hair and bright blue eyes. His hair was short with bangs that covered his eyes. For some reason, Hermes became nervous because she felt that the guy was looking her scars. His appearance described him as a pretty boy from another country. This guy looked very familiar but Hermes couldn't put her finger on it, she wondered if this guy could speak in German or maybe even English.

"Can you speak in English?" She asked in a curious tone.

"Yes. I'm guessing you're not from around here." The boy answered lightly.

"Yeah, I'm from Germany and my Japanese is not that excellent. But anyways, can you tell me where I can find the nearest hotel?"

'Of all the rotten luck I have to go through, if this guy doesn't help me out then I'm screwed...' Hermes thought in grimace.

"I'm looking for a hotel as well; if you want we could walk together." He offered with a smile.

Hermes eyes sparkled with joy, "Really? That'll be great, thank you! My name is Hermes Peters, what's yours? "

"Leo Kliesen."

* * *

That's the end of the chapter; I do not own anything and please review.


	2. Chapter 2

Here's the second chapter of Hard Luck Scars, I do not own Tekken or any reference of games and such. Please review and happy reading.

Side notes: 1) If you were wondering about Hermes scars, it looks somewhat similar to Balalaika's scars from Black Lagoon. But she could have more scars underneath her clothes.

2) The story follows both the scenario campaign story and the tournament but there is a Tekken Tag element in it. I'm still playing the campaign mode but Lars and Alisa will not appear just yet.

* * *

At the Peters' Residence in Germany, Hermes changed out of her school uniform and packed up her things in her bag pack. She felt somewhat relieved to leave Germany but sad to leave her friends and the town itself. Her outfit was just a simple light blue t-shirt, a pair of jeans, and sneakers. She looked at her bedroom one last time, the room was still messy and the night stand had a pile of week old magazines. One thing caught her eye, a photograph of her grandfather and herself at a carnival.

"Grandfather..." Hermes said softly.

She closed the door of her bedroom and left the house, leaving her grandfather and the memories with it. In the living room, her grandfather laid peacefully on the couch and on the coffee table was the tape recorder. The recorder begins to rewind itself and played a message but it was from Hermes.

"To anyone who finds this..."

* * *

Back at Shibuya, Hermes finally met someone who could speak in both English and German. Another thing that made her happy was that person is willing to guide her to a hotel. The skies of Japan darkened into a deep shade of blue and the cities lights illuminated the streets. Hermes followed the nineteen year old, Leo, through the busy sidewalks. As they walked, Hermes felt that she was being stared by a hundred of eyes which made her feel uncomfortable. For some reason, Japan was the only place that wasn't bombed by Mishima Zaibatsu and people weren't fazed by the news of war. Hermes rubbed her scarred face, it's hard enough to live with scars and yet some people still act like total jerks when they see scars or something that's unpleasing to them.

"Are you alright?" Leo asked in a curious tone.

"I'm okay..." She mumbled out.

Suddenly, someone's stomach growled loudly and Leo placed his hand on his stomach. He smiled slightly and Hermes just shrugged as if it's not a big deal. Few minutes later, the two decide to eat at a small ramen shop which prices range from 200 yen-800 yen. That was fine for Hermes, she is in a tight budget and the cheapest place is a good thing for her.

Leo slurped his noodles from his Tonkatsu ramen, "You don't mind me asking this right?"

Hermes swallowed her food, "What is it?"

"Those scars, they looked like they were from a fire. Did something happen in Germany?" He asked in concern.

Hermes looked down at her bowl of ramen and her expression was mixed. She was angry about the things that happened at her hometown and she was sad that she had to leave her friends while the town is being rebuilt. But this boy in front of her wants to know what happened and she might as well tell him about it as a token of her gratitude.

"A month ago, Germany was bombed by some huge corporation. I was at my school's fighting club and that's when the bombing started. Half of the students were killed by the blast, some had minor injuries, and the rest including myself were burnt by the fire. But one of my friends suffered severe burns up to her neck, so comparing to her injuries and mine, she suffered more than me...Thing is I don't know if I should be happy that I'm still breathing..."

Leo's eyes were widened by the story and his eyes were softened by sadness. When Hermes saw that look on Leo's face, she sighed lightly, she didn't want any pity from him or anyone else. He asked for an answer and he got it, he should be satisfied. Before anyone could talk, a group of people walked over to their table and Hermes' eyes opened up. It was bleach blonde boy, Nobu, from the fight and he was with his two buddies that smelt of cheap cologne.

"Hey there fry face!" Nobu greeted with a smirk.

Hermes didn't reply and took the insult like it was nothing. Nobu's buddies just laughed at the sight and watched their friend make a move on a girl. Nobu placed his hand on her right shoulder and breathed into her ear.

"Not much of a fighter huh? I love the sight of girls that are about to break. If you want I could give a wonderful time but only for tonight." Nobu offered in a sleazy tone.

Hermes grabbed his hand tightly and pushed it away, "No deal."

"Aww c'mon, don't be so rough."

Suddenly, Nobu felt someone grabbing him by the shoulder and it was Leo.

"She said no, so leave." He said in a serious tone.

"This isn't your problem, so mind your business!"

Nobu was about to punch Leo but he dodged his punch and kicked the sleaze ball to the ground. Nobu rolled over and growled by what just happened. His two buddies surrounded Leo and people inside the shop watched in awe as they eat their food. Hermes was stunned by what Leo did for her and watched as he fought with gusto. His moves and strikes were both deadly and graceful to watch. Suddenly one of the guys was about to hit Leo with a wooden chair behind him. Hermes jump into the fight and kicked the chair out of his hands. As she landed on the ground, she stumbled a bit and the guy was about to knock her lights out. She backed away and punched him square in the nose, which made him cringe in pain. This was her chance to knock out and hopefully this doesn't knock her out, Hermes head butted the guy and he went down on ground.

"Urgh." He groaned in pain.

Hermes smiled by the sight of victory and turned to see if Leo was okay. She saw Leo finishing off the last of Nobu's friends and ended with a swift kick. Leo glanced at Hermes and she was mesmerized by the color of his eyes. Then she snapped out of her trance when she realized that she was being looked at by many people. Before she cringed in embarrassment, she suddenly heard applause from the people. She felt relieved by the sounds of approval from the people. Nobu and his gang were taken away by two police officers who coincidently parked by the shop. The owner was grateful by what the two did, especially what Leo did, so the ramen was on the house.

"Thanks again, come here anytime!" The owner said in a hearty tone.

The two strangers walked together and continued their search for a hotel. Hermes glanced at Leo for a few times and rubbed the back of her head. She was thankful for what Leo did for her there, if he didn't butt in time then bad things would've happened to her and maybe even the shop. Eight minutes later, the two finally found a hotel to stay at and got themselves separate rooms. Before they went separate ways, the exchange smiles and handshakes.

"Um...Thanks for helping me today..." She said in a nervous tone.

"No problem, but how do you know that guy?" Leo answered with a smile.

She rubbed the back of her neck, "You could say that. Earlier today, there was a small competition at that dog statue. It was between me and that loser but I lost the match. Geez, of all the insults he choose that one...he really doesn't know how it feels to be the butt of jokes. I'm such a lousy fighter..."

'What did I just say...why do I have to be so vulnerable?'

"I don't think of you as a lousy fighter." Leo commented lightly.

"Thanks for the compliment but I don't deserve it from a fighter like you."

"...."

"It's getting late; it's a big day tomorrow so I need to get some sleep. It's nice knowing you Leo."

"Yeah, take care Hermes."

The two walked in different directions and went to their hotel rooms. Inside of the hotel room, the atmosphere was simple and comfortable. The walls were white; there was a small television in front of the bed that was neatly covered with bed sheets. Hermes walked out of the bathroom and wiped her head with a towel. She threw the towel on the nightstand and lay herself on the bed. Before she went to sleep, she recalled the events that occurred today and all she could remember was the half of the day she spent with Leo.

Suddenly she sat up, 'Could he be that German fighter that Grandpa was talking about? Nah, it couldn't be, Leo doesn't look the type to be entering a match. He looks like he has everything that a boy should have. But when I told him that story, that expression on his face...I should stop thinking about him and just think about the tournament. I mean, it's unlikely I'll ever see him again.'

Hermes dropped back onto the bed and drifted off to a deep sleep. She rolled around in her sleep as she remembered the old days with her friends and her grandpa. She snuggled close to the pillow and remembered the time that grandpa brought her to the carnival.

'Grandpa...'

* * *

The next day, Hermes was at the front desk and paid for the hotel stay. She felt great today, the shower and a good night's rest made her feel like a million bucks.

The clerk bowed, "Thank you for staying in City Lights Hotel. Do you have any questions before you leave?"

"Yes, do you know where the Iron Fist Tournament meeting will be held at?" Hermes asked.

The clerk's eyes opened up a bit, "The meeting will be at the scramble crossing near the train station. You better hurry; the meeting will start in nine minutes."

"Nine minutes!? Thanks for the info!"

Hermes ran out of the hotel and prayed that she won't be late to the meeting. As she got out of the hotel, she was welcomed by a huge group of people who were walking in the same direction. Hermes ran through the crowd and pushed away people who were blocking her destination. But as she pushed away more people, more of them appeared out of nowhere. It was a huge ocean of people and Hermes is struggling to reach the train station.

'Damn, if I don't get there in time then I'm screwed!' Hermes thought.

She was about to run through the crowd of people until she bumped into someone. Hermes landed on her butt and looked up to see who she crashed into.

"Hermes? Is that you?"

'That voice...'

The person she bumped into was Leo and he looked rather surprised to see a familiar face in the crowd of people. Leo helped Hermes get up on her feet and smiled briefly at her.

"So, what are you doing here? Are you going to watch the tournament's ceremony?" Leo asked in a curious tone.

"Not exactly, I'm-" She answered with a grin.

Before Hermes could answer, something appeared on the huge television screens of three buildings. Everyone at the scramble crossing was silent as they watched the television screen that depicted a man with black hair that was spiked upwards. People applauded to the man on the screen and Hermes wondered what's going on.

"Who is that guy?"

* * *

Please review and I don't own anything.


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own Tekken or any game/anime/movie reference in this story. Please review and happy reading.

Side notes: 1) The Tekken Tag element will be revealed in this chapter.

2) The pairing is LeoxOC, but there are some misc pairings hinted through the fic. Like Xiaoyu's crush on Jin and Eddie's relationship with Christie. Please remember that the gender of Leo is still ambiguous, but the character is a guy in the fic.

* * *

One year ago in Germany, the town where Hermes lived was full of life and peace. At the train station, a group of high school students were waving goodbye to their classmate who was leaving to see his mother. The student watched his classmates' wave farewell outside the moving cart and he says his goodbyes to his friends. Hermes and her friends watched as a group of girls flock over to the pretty boy.

"Hey Derek, do you know the name of the student that's leaving?" Hermes asked in a curious tone.

"Nope but he was in our class and from what I heard from his fan club, he's a master of a Chinese martial art." Derek answered with a smile.

"He's a cutie but I'm pretty sure that the foreigners of other countries will mistake him as a girl." Bridgette replied.

Derek and Bridgette laughed at the thought while Hermes watched as the train drifted away from the station. Inside the train, the male student noticed something outside the train. Hermes noticed the student was looking directly at her and she just waved at him with a small smile. The male student waved as well and the train finally disappeared in the distance.

* * *

"Who is that guy?" Hermes asked.

"He's Kazuya Mishima, the owner and founder of G-Corporation. He's the one who is set up this tournament." Leo explained.

People watched as Kazuya Mishima explained what was going on in the world. He mentioned about the all scale war between nations and what was the cause of it. Hermes noticed that some or even half of the contestants want revenge on the founder of Mishima Zaibatasu, Jin Kazama. Despite of knowing the main reason why the war started, Hermes didn't let the temptation of revenge get to her head. A goal was already set for her and she's willing to put her own life in this contest. Suddenly Kazuya's image was replaced with a cartoon mascot and was describing of what will happen in the tournament.

"This competition, you will be traveling around the world to find pieces of different maps that will lead you to the main arena. While you travel across countries, you will encounter many enemies including other fighters as you search for the maps. You are allowed to partner up with another fighter or go solo, which ever suits you. Various tools will be set up for your journey; one of them will be a multi-language device that will make communication easier. However the most powerful tool in your arsenal is yourself, do you have what it takes? I'm sure you do!"

Hermes smiled, 'A communication device sounds awesome. But wow this mascot is annoying... I would have preferred a small dinosaur that's talking to me...'

"Your first mission is to find travel tickets and the tool boxes that are scattered across Shibuya through Tokyo. You also have a chance of getting two tickets, one for traveling and the other for either selling for money or stuff from other opponents. But you must have them before 8 PM because that's when your transportation leaves. Good luck and have a safe journey!"

Once the mascot disappeared on the screen, the contestants started to move and run into different directions. Hermes gawked by the stampede that was heading straight at her and she ran for her life. Suddenly she tripped over something on the street and she checked to see what is was. It was a small toolbox and it had G-Corporation embedded on the leather casing. Hermes grabbed the box and ran over to the nearest bench so she can have a closer look. But once Hermes opened the case, a ray of green light shoots out of the case and she cringed from the brightness.

"Subject scanned. Welcome Hermes Peters, you are six miles away from your destination."

"Six miles?" She muttered out and took a closer look at the device.

'This must be the toolbox, lucky me that I find it out of the blue but shame I can't retake my picture.' She thought.

Inside the small tool box was a computer screen that had a funny looking picture of Hermes. Then she noticed a clip-on earring, in the center of the case, and she clipped the earring on.

"Avatar picture has now been set and communication device has been activated. Location Shibuya, Japan. Downloading Japanese dictionary...Japanese Dialect is now go. "

She glared at the picture, 'Crap, I think this picture is permanent. Oh forget it, right now I have to follow this radar and find my ticket.'

Hermes stood up from the bench and started to jog through the busy sidewalks. As she passed through the busy streets, the radar showed her the location of tickets is hidden, Mishima Polytechnical School. The radar notified her that she was closing in on those tickets and this made her excited.

'It's been so long since I felt this way but I feel so uneasy for some reason.' She thought.

"Look out!" Someone shouted.

Hermes' eyes widened as she saw a huge furry creature standing in front her and that caused her to trip over the furry obstacle. She rolled over to the other side of the sidewalk and saw what she tripped over. Hermes gulped in fright and backed away from the panda that was crawling over to her. But something wasn't right; no one on the streets was panicking or screaming that a wild animal is on the loose. Hermes didn't want to take a risk of being the panda's lunch but all she did was cover herself with her arms and closed her eyes.

"Oh no, are you alright?!" A girlish voice shouted out of nowhere.

A minute later, Hermes placed her arms down and opened her eyes to find a girl staring straight at her. The girl was around Hermes age and she had to admit she was cute in a boy's perspective. The girl had her shoulder length black hair in pigtails and she was in her high school uniform.

Hermes covered her scarred face from the girl, "I'm okay...Um, is that your panda?"

The girl nodded with a smile and helped Hermes up on her feet. Hermes rubbed the back of her head nervously and shook each of her legs to ease the pain from the fall. The school girl tilted her head to the right and her pet panda watched as Hermes fixed herself.

Hermes smiled lightly, "Sorry about tripping over your...Panda. I'm in a bit of hurry you see and I have to go somewhere."

"Oh? Do you need any help?"

"No, it's alright."

Hermes was about to walk away until the school girl said something that stopped her. Then Hermes noticed something in the girl's hand, she has a tool box just like her.

"Opponent detected."

The girl went in a fighting stance, "Your here to steal my tickets aren't you?"

"Yeah...Wait, no! I don't want to fight you!" Hermes shouted in fright.

Hermes slowly backed away from the girl and suddenly felt something furry behind her. She looked over her shoulder and heard a small growl from the girl's panda. Sweat beads formed on her forehead and she came to a conclusion that's she's in deep trouble. She was terrified by not only the school girl but her huge pet that can rip her into shreds. Suddenly Hermes found herself blocking attacks from the school girl and she's trying to counter them.

'Me and my big mouth! Got to think of something fast!'

"Argh!"

Hermes fell flat on her back and acted like she was in pain. The two strangers stared at her as cringed in pain and groaned. Hermes prayed that this works and they leave but someone pulled her up. It was the school girl and she looked happy for some reason as if she forgot about the whole incident earlier.

"My name is Ling Xiaoyu, what's yours?" The school girl commented.

"Hermes Peters, but I'm not here to steal your ticket. I'm trying find one myself." Hermes explained.

"Really?! I'm sorry."

"You don't need to bow for me or anything, it's just a mistake. I just hope no one got the tickets from...Oh no."

Hermes checked her radar screen and wasn't happy about the new update. All the tickets were taken, which means it's the end of the line for her and she failed on fulfilling a wish for someone.

"All the tickets are taken..." Hermes muttered in disbelief.

"Not exactly, you actually have a chance of getting another ticket but from someone." Xiaoyu replied.

Hermes' arched her eyebrow, "What do you mean? I told you I don't steal tickets."

"Not by stealing by sharing. Didn't you know? There is a chance that someone has two tickets. Which means you can get one for yourself!" Xiaoyu explained with a smile.

When Xiaoyu finished her sentence, a smile formed on Hermes lips. She has a chance to redeem herself but the smile disappeared when she realized that she had to find people who were willing enough to give them their spare ticket. Who in the right mind will give her a spare?

Hermes rubbed the back of her neck, "I don't think I have a chance. I mean this competition is dog eat dog and I can't just go up to someone and ask for their ticket."

Xiaoyu placed her hands on her sides, "Hmm...Do you know anyone in the competition then? Maybe they can spare you a ticket?"

Then something popped up in her mind, that pretty boy, maybe he has a spare ticket with him. Hermes ran away from Xiaoyu and Panda, time was running out and she has to find him before it's too late. She ran through the streets in hoping to find the boy and all she could do was search high and low for him. Few hours later, the skies was mixed with pink and orange and the sun was about to set. Hermes found herself near a pier and watched as the cruise ships disappear in the horizon. A little kid on a cruise ship waved goodbye to Hermes and she waved back.

She wipes away a few tears from her eyes, 'Well, it was fun while it lasted. But how on earth can I go back to Germany?'

Hermes gave out a sigh and continued to watch the sunset. It was a beautiful scene and it reminded her the old days at her school. Those memories made her smile and she continued to reminisce while basking in the sun light. She heard a horn sound coming from the huge yacht beside her and a few people were entering the ship. Hermes sighed heavily and gazed at the sky to see a flock of seagulls flying away.

'I wonder if Derek and Bridgette found my message at the house? Come to think of it...that pretty boy, Leo, I wondered if he would really give me his spare ticket. Nah, he probably wouldn't.'

"At least it's a nice sun set." She said to herself.

"Yes it is..."

Hermes turned around and to see a familiar face and probably the last time she'll ever see that guy again. Hermes gave a sigh and smiled at Leo, who was now standing beside her. For five minutes, they didn't say anything to each other and watched the sunset together. Once the sun disappeared on the other side, the skies turned blue and the area was then illuminated by the light posts on the sides of the pier.

"Can you tell me something?" Leo asked in a curious tone.

"Ask away." Hermes replied lightly.

"Are you in the competition?"

Hermes looked down at her feet, "Yes, but I couldn't find a ticket in time and now I'm stuck here. It really sucks that I cried my eyes out because it's frustrating and sad."

"Why do you want to be in the tournament so badly?"

Hermes had a determined look on her face, "If I tell you then you'll probably find it stupid."

"I promise you, I won't." Leo replied with a trusting smile.

She glanced at Leo for a few moments and sighed, "I'm not here for money or revenge. All I want is to find my family but sadly I can't go any further than this."

'He probably thinks I'm weakling right now...'

"Maybe you can."

Hermes' eyes widened to find a cruise ticket in Leo's hand and she was stunned by this gesture from someone that she met only yesterday.

She shook her head, "I can't accept it."

"Sure you can."

"No, it doesn't seem fair that you're giving it to me."

"Maybe there's a way to repay me." Leo suggested.

The two heard the cruise boat's horn, indicating that it was time to depart. She found herself following Leo and entering the boat with him. The boat slowly drifted away from the pier and the two watched as the city grew smaller by every inch.

"How about we partner up?"

* * *

That's all for now, review.


	4. Chapter 4

Here's the long awaited chapter, been a while isn't it. Hope you enjoy and I don't own anything.

**Side Notes**

**1) The whole yacht set up for this chapter reminds me of the Tekken 3 opening with Xiaoyu.**

**2) A new OC will make an appearance in this chapter.**

**3) Inspiration came from the anime Black Lagoon and Nujabes.**

* * *

Back in Japan, inside of the City Lights Hotel, Leo walked out of his hotel room's bathroom and wiped his wet hair with a towel. His room was dark but the city's colorful lights illuminated the area with a dull light. He walked over to the window and gazed at the city's beauty with a soft look. But he disliked city life and yearned to come back to his country and smell the fresh countryside air again. He grasped his necklace around his neck and closed his eyes.

'I'll promise to avenge your death...mom.'

* * *

Inside the yacht, a group of people were checking in and heading into their suites. Hermes and Leo stood together in the line of fighters and one of them was wearing a rather frilly white dress and had long flowing platinum blonde hair. Another person caught her eye, it was a man with his long black hair in a pony tail and he looked like a cop. Hermes felt a little intimidated by the sight of fighters who could probably break her in half or bust out a dangerous combo of kicks and punches. She tried to relax but the guy in front of him had this rather creepy aura around and she couldn't shake off.

'They must be either here for revenge, money, or something else. But geez, how come I have a feeling that these guys can kill me.' She thought.

Twenty minutes later, Leo and Hermes walked together in the hallway to find their assigned room.

"Okay, the room should be here." He said lightly.

Leo took out a card from his pocket and swiped it to unlock the room, the door opens and Hermes' eyes were widened by the scenery. The room was elegant and bright, it consisted of a comfy couch, a television set, a fruits basket, a bathroom, and of course a king sized mattress.

"You can sleep on the bed, I'll take the couch." She suggested with a grin.

"No you should sleep on the bed." Leo insisted.

"No I'll sleep on the- do we really have time to argue about this?"

Leo didn't reply and Hermes then decided to sleep on the bed to make pretty boy happy. She dropped her bag pack on the ground and jumped onto the soft mattress. Leo sat himself on the couch and placed his bag beside the seat.

"Can you tell me something?" Leo asked in a curious tone.

"Sure. Since I'm your partner and all, we have to know each other."

"What did you mean about finding your family?"

Hermes gazed at the smooth ceiling, "I just want to find them...and become a family again."

Leo was a little shocked by her answer and his eyes softened after remembering something about his own family. Those memories were a mixture of happy and sad times, his expression was mixed. She grumbled to herself from giving him a blunt answer, maybe it was too painful for her to explain or maybe it was too long. But something in her chest is telling her to not tell everything to this guy just yet.

"What's your reason for the tournament?" She changed the subject with a smile.

"For a lot of reasons...let's put it that way."

"Geez, you can at least give me a straight answer." Hermes snapped, "But it's alright, if it's too hard for you to say then I'm fine with it. Besides it's too hard for me to say things to you right now."

Leo's eyes widened by the response and he lay himself on the couch. He gazed at the smooth ceiling along with Hermes who turned to the other side to face him.

"Are you from Germany Leo?"

"Yeah but I traveled a lot, so I never had a chance to permenately stay at my hometown." Leo explained.

"Why so?"

"My dad was a spelunker and he always brought me in his trips."

Hermed gave out a sigh, "Must be fun to travel in different regions."

He gave out a chuckle, "It is but home is the best place to go to. You lived in Germany also right?"

"Yeah, but after that bomb raid, I wanted to go somewhere far away from the catastrophe and relax."

"That's a little care less."

"Maybe your right but I can't go back now can I?"

Leo turned his head and watched as Hermes caressed the scar on her face. Then she turned off the lights and laid herself on the bed, the two continued to stare at the ceiling.

"Hermes..."

"What is it?" She responded.

"Do you hate Mishima Zabatasu for all of the disasters and those scars?"

"...I don't know."

* * *

At the Peters residence, a young man in his twenties was walking around the living room, hoping to find something. He had bright red hair and was wearing a green bomber jacket with black pants. The couch had an indent of body and on the coffee table was a tape recorder. He glanced at the indent on the cushions and closed his eyes to rid of images of a dead body lying there. He felt guilty of sneaking into a house of a dead man but he had a reason to do so. He pressed the tape recorders button to play the tape, it's a voice of a girl but the voice quality was warped.

'The tape must have been repeating itself for quite a while.' The man thought.

"To anyone who finds this, you may have realized that my grandfather, Heinrich Peters has died from his injuries. You may also discover that I- Peters, is nowhere in sight. It's stupid of me to lea- behind without saying good- but I have to ful- someone's last wish. I'm partici- tournament-and I'm trying to find my- It's going to be hard but its okay I'll do my best."

The tape was skipping and he started to decipher of what the girl is trying to say but he can tell she's crying. But the word 'tournament' sparked his mind and he realized where the girl has gone to.

"King of Iron Fist Tournament..." He said in shock.

* * *

Few hours later in the yacht, Hermes decided to explore the boat and maybe get something to drink. She changed out of her clothes and wore a simple black tank top with a clean pair of jeans. She sighed and walked out of the bathroom to find a peaceful looking Leo sleeping on the couch. She grabbed the blanket off the bed and placed it on top of him.

"Sweet dreams, pretty boy." She muttered out.

Hermes headed out the door and closed it gently to not wake her partner up. Inside the lower deck of the yacht, a few people were inside of the boat's bar and some of them were playing pool. The room's scent was a mixture of cigarettes, cheap perfume, and alcohol. This didn't faze the German, bars aren't supposed to smell like roses or anything sweet, but her nose doesn't like the mixed aroma. She grabbed a seat at the bar and the bartender looked at her as he wiped a glass with a white terry cloth.

"What will you have miss?" He asked with a smile.

'Thank god, he speaks English.' She thought with a smile.

"Surprise me?" Hermes responded and fiddled with her translator on her ear.

"One Shirley Temple coming right up." The bartender turned and mixed some liquids in a cocktail glass.

"Hey aren't you a little young for alcohol?" A voice asked out of nowhere.

Hermes turned around to see a man with a pony tail and wearing a pink colored shirt with white pants. He looked like he was around his late forties and sounded like he was somewhere from China. Then she noticed a belt with a police badge and a gun. A smile formed on his lips indicating he was just goofing around and raised his tea in the air. She sighed in relief and the bartender placed the pink fizzy concoction in front of her. He added the final piece to the drink, a bright red cherry; he smiled kindly at the girl and walked over to another customer who ordered a glass of scotch. Hermes rose her glass to the policeman beside her and the two took a sip of their drinks.

"So are you new in the competition?" The man asked in a warm tone.

"...Yeah." She said and drifts off in her thoughts.

"Names Lei Wulong, I'm a police man from Hong Kong. What's yours?"

"Hermes Peters, I'm a student from Heidelberg, Germany."

She popped the cherry into her mouth and Lei took a sip of his tea. She glanced at the policeman in the corner of her eye and was a little surprised that the policeman was friendly.

"Are you in the competition Mr. Wulong?" She asked in a polite tone.

"This is the sixth time I'm in this contest." He replied cheerfully.

"Really? Wow, you must be an expert at fighting."

"No one is an expert at fighting, in my opinion everyone is still a student who's perfecting their art. If you want we can spar for fun, don't worry I'll be easy on you."

"That's sounds nice, but you don't need to be easy on me. Even though I'm a newbie, I want a fair match."

"Good to hear, then meet me at the upper deck. The bartender won't be happy if we fight in here."

Inside of a dark facility, a man around his twenties was looking at a huge computer screen. On the screen was a number of profiles and pictures of people who are participating in the tournament. Then he clicked a link that showed him a map of a cruise ship that is heading over to China. A set of profiles appeared indicating who is on board the ship, a smirked formed on his lips and he pressed a button.

* * *

Back in Germany, a group of people were at the Church and were mourning for the loss of another set of souls and the disappearance of a high school student. Bridgette and Derek sat at the benches, wondering of what happened to their good friend. Outside of the church, two people stood in front of the church's door, one of them was around his thirties and he was wearing a suit of armor that's black and red. The other person was the red head and around his neck was a dog tag that was covered in paint.

"I'm sorry; I cannot give you any more information. I already have given you the address to the house and that's all I can do." A Priest said in a polite tone.

"We're not here for more information; this soldier here wants to say something to you." The man said lightly.

The red head bowed to the priest as a sign of gratitude for giving out the address to the Peters Residence. The priest noticed something about the young man; the expression on his face was mixed with guilt and regret.

"Rise up my son." The priest exclaimed with a smile, "What is troubling you?"

The young man rose up and stared at the priest, "I..."

* * *

Please review and I don't own anything.


	5. Chapter 5

I do not own Tekken or any references please review and happy reading.

* * *

Outside on the boat, Hermes and Lei were on opposite sides of the deck. As the two clashed, waves of water crashed into the boat and inside a small cargo room were a crate full of explosives and the timer was ticking. Hermes struck Lei with a punch but he blocked with his upper arm and kicked her into the chest. She fell onto her knees and rose her hand up as sign that he won. Lei catched his breath and smiled at the newbie for sparring with him.

"Not bad for a newbie, but what kind of fighting art is that?" Lei asked as he helped Hermes up.

"It's not necessarily an art, just a list of different moves. The club I was in didn't actually have an art to follow anymore; my teacher disappeared after the bomb raid. When she disappeared, the upperclassman of that club, but he died recently." She explained with a sad look on her face.

Lei's eyes softened, "Sorry that I asked."

"No, it's okay. But wow, no wonder why you were in this tournament for six years, you must be here to win big." She replied with a grin.

"Not exactly, I'm here to find someone."

Suddenly, a huge explosion erupted in the ship's bridge which caused to ship stop in the middle of the water. The two were on the ground, shielding themselves from the small bits of ruble and fire. Hermes was terrified by the sight of fire coming from the yacht and realized that Leo was still in there. Hermes was about to run inside the boat, but Lei grabbed her by the hand.

"It's too dangerous to go into the boat!" Lei shouted in a serious tone.

"But my friend is in that boat!"

"Heh. What pitiful excuse for running away." A ghoulish voice came out of nowhere.

Lei took out his gun and saw someone coming out of the fire, a large man with scars and gray short hair. Hermes was paralyzed with fear and the large entity walked over to the two.

"Had a feeling you would show up and looks like you brought yourself a pint size sidekick." The intimidating man said with a smirk.

"Bryan Fury. Are you responsible for this?" Lei asked and put away his gun.

"Wrong answer. I thought you cops were supposed to be smart. But I do love the smell of smoke and sounds of explosives, gets me wind up." Bryan exclaimed and jumps toward the two.

The two rolled over into different directions and Bryan smashed his fist into the floor. He smirked menacingly at Hermes who was paralyzed by his strength. She dodged Bryan's punch which made a huge dent on the boat's metal barrier and then suddenly Lei jumped onto him and grabbed him by back of his neck. Hermes ran over to Bryan and punched him in the gut but there was no effect. He cackled by the girl's failed attempt to get him on his knees and kicked her straight in the gut. A mixture of blood and spit ruptured from her mouth and she fell onto her knees in pain.

"Hermes! Ugh!" Lei screamed and found himself crashing into a lifeboat.

"Argh!" She groaned and held onto her stomach.

"Hahahaha, is that all you got fry face?" Bryan shouted in pure delight.

Lei got himself up and Bryan ran towards him, it was a battle between a good cop and a villain. As she tried to get herself together, Hermes watched the fight and how Bryan was fighting. A Japanese art of punches and kicks, kickboxing, and Bryan wasn't breaking a sweat. She closed her eyes and struggled to get up, she doesn't want to give in but this guy already proved himself as a powerful opponent. Lei was slammed into the floor and his was slowly being crushed by Bryan's brute strength. Hermes slowly got up on her feet and wobbled back to the floor.

'Dammit, this is not good...it hurts...I want to giv-No I can't!' She thought.

Hermes tightened her fists and felt something snapped in her body. She jolted over to Bryan and kicked him away from Lei, causing him to roll over to the other side. Now he was pissed and Hermes got into her stance, the two slowly walked in circles and waited for an attack from any side. Bryan ran towards Hermes and she dodged his punch which caused him to stumble a little. Hermes let out a loud scream and gave him a flurry of into his chest. Bryan hacks out some his blood and glared at the girl for not standing down. Then he felt someone behind him and turned his head to find Lei smiling towards him. Bryan tried to strike the policeman back onto the ground but Lei dodged and was presented by a roundhouse kick from Hermes.

* * *

Inside the boat, people were running to the nearest exit and prayed the ship wasn't sinking. Leo was one of them but he was going to the opposite direction and holding his bag along with Hermes' stuff. A bomb went off recently and he had a feeling that the person who staged this fight wanted the fighters to stay on their toes and maybe cause some mayhem. Suddenly he bumped into a pair of girls and one of them smelled of French perfume.

"Sorry Miss, I'm in a bit of a rush." Leo apologized, "I'm looking for someone."

"Oh dear, who are you looking for?" A girl with long platinum blonde hair asked.

"Do we really have time for this?" The second girl said in a heavy Kansai accent.

Before Leo could say anything, another explosion erupted and half of the ceiling collapsed onto the ground blocking the hallway where he came from. Sweat started to form on his forehead and the Blondie screamed in fright.

"My luggage!" She screamed.

"Forget about the clothes, we have to get out of here!" The Osakan girl shouted.

The three ran through the fiery hallway in hopes of finding a way to the upper deck. When they found the exit, they found themselves watching a large man laughing evilly and two beings on the ground. One was Chinese and the other was a German. Leo's eyes widened as he saw an unconscious Hermes on the ground but was suddenly relieved when she opened her eyes. The Osakan was shocked to find a familiar policeman on the ground and ran over to his aid.

"Wulong-san!" She screamed with worry.

"Argh!" Lei groaned as he tried to place his shoulder back in place.

Leo placed his arm in front of the Blondie as the large man smirked at the two. He was about to walk over to the two and until he was knocked on the head by a fire extinguisher multiple times. Bryan collapsed onto the ground, knocked out cold by Hermes and the help from an object. She dropped the extinguisher on the ground and tried to catch her breath.

"Hermes! Are you alright?" Leo asked with worry.

"Yeah, but damn this guy is tough and all it took was an item move." She said in pain.

She was in so much pain but she felt victorious for defeating someone but awful for using an object to seal the deal. The Osakan helped Lei walk over to Hermes and he smiled warmly toward the girl.

"Good job Hermes, but I don't think you would be this lucky when it comes to the big leagues." Lei said lightly.

"I know, I have a lot of ways to go and I have a feeling that knocking someone with an extinguisher is a one a time gig in this tournament. Sorry for getting you injured..."

"No worries, I had worse injuries than this. But I must say you do prove yourself a worthy fighter and not giving up so easily." Lei complimented.

Hermes' expression softened when she heard those words and smiled to herself. Suddenly the boat starts to shake and everyone starts to panic, another explosion erupted from the boat and half of the boat was rising upwards. Somewhere in the sky, a private jet was flying over the ocean and Xiaoyu along with her panda were relaxing in first class. Xiaoyu noticed a bright red light exploding in the air and she looked into the window to see a ship wreckage. As the jet flew away, the group were on a lifeboat and Leo shot out another flare from his trusty flare gun.

"It should probably take two hours until we get help." Leo explained lightly.

"That's great but did we really have to bring this brute along with us?" The Blondie asked in disgust.

In the middle of the boat was an unconscious Bryan Fury and was handcuffed thanks to the policeman.

"Don't worry, he's knocked out cold. But if he does wake up be prepare- oww!" Lei said.

"Wulong-san please don't move." The Osakan replied as she bandaged his wound.

Leo sat himself beside Hermes who was completely drained from the fight and handed her bag pack.

"Had a great time today?" Leo asked jokingly.

"Heh. Sure, if you like explosions and fights. This is one hell of a cruise line." Hermes explained with a smile.

The two laughed awkwardly and as the boat drifts away from the fire, the two stared at the dark sky.

"You know I think we came off the wrong way today and didn't fully answer our questions. So to kill time, how about we re-answer our questions?"

"How about when we get to dry land? We have plenty of time there, for now you should get some rest." Leo said with a smile.

"That sounds nice..."

Leo suddenly felt someone resting on his shoulder and it was Hermes. Leo was a little fazed about it but he relaxed a bit and chuckled as he heard her snoring lightly.

* * *

Please review and I hope you liked the chapter.


	6. Side note

Been a while since I saw this story, but sadly this is a note rather than a chapter. I apologize for the sudden hiatus and haven't not posting anything since the last two years. The story is not abandoned and it'll will be updated asap. Since you've been patient for an update, your help is much appreciated for this upcoming chapter. Recently Leo is confirmed to be a girl, and since the story didn't get to the light-hearted romance parts, would you still read it if Leo is a girl? Your feedback is very much appreciated!


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